


Castiel's Spare Vessel

by Cheryl1964



Series: Gabriel in Charge Verse [5]
Category: Band of Brothers, Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-02-13
Packaged: 2017-11-29 02:49:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheryl1964/pseuds/Cheryl1964
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel prepares Castiel for the arrival of his spare vessel.  Sequel to Gabriel's Spare Vessel</p>
            </blockquote>





	Castiel's Spare Vessel

**Author's Note:**

> Don't own Supernatural don't own Band of Brothers

"Gabriel, you wished to see me?" Castiel said as he appeared next to Gabriel at a gravesite.

Gabriel sighed. "Yes. It's time you learned a little bit about old school Archangel responsibilities. It seems that things really got out of hand in the last century. I guess the Apocalypse was the only thing on everyone's mind.  But you're an Archangel now so time for you to learn what that means."

"Why are we meeting in a cemetery in Luxembourg, Gabriel?" Castiel asked confused.

"Because this is where we start your lesson kiddo." Gabriel answered.

Castiel tilted his head and read the gravemarker. "Sgt Warren "Skip" Muck, born January 31, 1922 died January 10, 1945. Was he a soldier of some importance?"

"Not to War. He was just another kid tossed out there as cannon fodder, but he had the potential to be very important. He was a true vessel, my true vessel." Gabriel explained.

"But you already occupy your true vessel." Castiel was very confused.

"Remember when Sam and Dean were in Jericho on that ghost hunt and I told you that they were pranking me about a clone? It wasn't a clone. The guy's name is Bill Kohler, he's also my true vessel." Gabriel said. "It's time you learn about one of the perks of being an Archangel. You always have a spare true vessel somewhere. Lets take a little time trip Cassie."

* * *

"Where are we?" Castiel asked looking around at the frozen landscape. The ground was carpeted in snow and the trees bent under the combined weight of snow and ice. Men were huddled around wrapped in Blankets to ward off the bitter cold.

"Bastogne, just outside of the town of Foy, Belgium. Every war has one battle that is known as the bloodiest battle of the war, World War II Is no exception. This is it, The Battle of the Bulge, January 10, 1945."

"Gabriel is that?" Castiel asked pointing at a young man in a foxhole talking quietly to another man. The two were obviously freezing but they still joked and teased each other about the predicament they were in.

"Yes that's Skip Muck. The other guy is Alex Penkala." Gabriel said. Muck was laughing quietly at Penkala who had made a joke about being tired of pissing icicles. "They will both be dead in a few moments."

As Gabriel and Castiel watched, another Gabriel appeared next to the foxhole. This Gabriel's face showed a sadness that Castiel had never seen on his brother's normally cheerful face. They watched as the other Gabriel sat down in the foxhole next to Muck and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You were with him when he died." Castiel said. "You came to comfort him even though you were masquerading as the Trickster."

"Yeah. We never let our vessel die alone if we can help it.  If we can't be there then one of the other Archangel's will be at their side.  I've just always comforted my own." Gabriel said quietly.  "The Germans are going to start shelling this position in a minute."

Almost before he finished speaking the salvo of mortar rounds started and men ran for the dubious cover of foxholes. In the foxhole Gabriel unfurled his wings and wrapped them around Skip Muck. Skip and Alex were calling out to another man in the open urging him to join them in the foxhole when there was an explosion of dirt, blood and metal.

"A one in a million shot. A direct hit on the foxhole." Gabriel said. "The Germans manged to score more than one direct hit on this day. Unfortunately this mortar was not a dud like several of the others, it was live.  It took the lives of two young men who hadn't even started to live yet."

The other Gabriel had stood up and unfurled his wings from the stunned soldier. Reaching out, that Gabriel whispered something to the soldier then pressed two fingers against Skip Muck's forehead. Sgt Muck disappeared and Gabriel looked around the woods before vanishing himself.

"Okay kiddo let's go." Gabriel said snapping his fingers.

* * *

Castiel looked around, he was in heaven but a part of heaven he had never seen before. "Where are we, Gabriel. This is heaven but I am not familiar with this heaven."

"There was no reason for you to be before now. Only Dad and the Archangels know of this place. It was created for our vessels." Gabriel said. "When the soul of an Archangel's true vessel leaves it's body it comes here. Some of them have hosted angels but most of these souls lived their lives never knowing about us until the moment of their deaths. But we still have a responsibility to them."

Gabriel took off walking and Castiel followed. It soon became apparent that no one was paying any attention to the two angels. Gabriel stopped and stepped through a group of trees and pointing at the bank of a river.

"Skip Muck?" Castiel questioned as he watched the young man and a woman sitting on a blanket near a flowing body of water.  A picnic basket sat on a blanket where Skip had his arms wrapped around a young woman.  They smiled at each other and the small child playing with blocks on the blanket in front of them.

"Yes, it's his heaven. Here he survived the war and came home to marry his sweetheart, Faye and start a family. This is what he would think of when he faced battle; he thought of home, the family that he would have." Gabriel said. "It's why I was there in that foxhole. We reap our own true vessels Castiel, and then we deliver them to their own personal paradise."

Gabriel turned away from the Muck family. The grassy riverbank had turned into sand. A man was kneeling before a door marked with Hieroglyphs. He was carefully removing dirt from the symbols with a delicate brush. Even kneeling and sporting a very short neat haircut, it was impossible to mistake the figure of a somewhat younger Sam Winchester.

"No, it's not Sam. Simply another vessel. His name was Thomas Campbell. He was a college student from Georgia. He had dreams of becoming a famous archeologist. He died during the Spanish Flu Outbreak just after World War One." Gabriel said. If you wander around here long enough you will find 'Dennis Harvelle' who looks a lot like Dean, hunting tigers in Africa. All of the Archangels had many true vessels and they are all here somewhere. You just cannot interact with them once they choose what their heaven will be."

"Would I be correct in assuming that there is a purpose behind you showing me this?" Castiel asked.

"Right you are Bucko!" Gabriel said. "One of Michael's duties was to mark true vessels when they were born. This way we could always find them if we needed to use them as a vessel, keep an eye on them and when their lives were over, to bring them here.  With Michael gone, it's my responsibility now."

Gabriel stopped and seemed to look off into the distance for a second. "Oops! Time to go. We don't want to be late." Gabriel raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

* * *

Castiel looked at the woman who was pushing at the doctors command before falling back against the padded operating table that she was laying on. "She seems familiar." Castiel said to Gabriel.

"She should. Her name is Janice Reed. She's Jimmy Novak's sister."

Gabriel stepped up next to the doctor as he lifted a small squirming body up into the air and rubbed the newborn's back. Gabriel reached out a fingertip and traced something on the infant's chest. There was a bright glow and Castiel felt something tug on his grace.

"Gabriel? What was that?" Castiel asked rubbing the area over Jimmy's heart soothing the slight discomfort.

"Meet your new true vessel. That pull you felt was me linking his soul to your grace. Remember what it feels like, you will feel it again every time a new true vessel is born." Gabriel said. "Then it's your responsibility to keep track of him. If something were to happen and Jimmy for some reason can no longer contain you, this child will be there for you."

Gabriel smiled as the infant opened intense blue eyes before they blinked closed again. "And when the time comes and his life is ending, it's your job to usher him to the heaven set aside for our vessels, just like I did with Skip Muck."

"Do Joshua and Balthazar have spare vessels also?" Castiel asked.

"As a matter of fact Joshua's vessel will be born in about six hours and Balthazar's will be born tomorrow. Now I have to get going. Later Bro." Gabriel lifteed his hand and snapped his fingers.

* * *

Gabriel stood beside the grave of one Sgt Warren "Skip" Muck in the Luxembourg American Cemetery. The sound of feathers announced Joshua's arrival.

"Brother, you wished to see me?" Joshua asked.

"Yes. It's time you learned a little bit about old school Archangel responsibilities, Joshua."


End file.
